Abigail Adams, writing one of her many letters to her husband, John, who was off in Philadelphia working to put the Declaration of Independence through Congress, wrote, "Posterity who are to reap the blessings, will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors."
We are the ones reaping the blessings of those who paved the way for us. We have so much to learn from these courageous souls who didn't know how things were going to turn out. They were living in their present, just as we do. Reading biographies, autobiographies, historical fiction, trade books about events, etc. will give us a much richer understanding of historical times than memorizing dates and events.
David McCullough who has a great passion and love for history and has written a number of books about history told BYU students at a forum assembly on the 27th of September 2005, "...pursue it [history] avidly, with diligence, with attention. I hope you do this not just because it will make you a better citizen, and it will; not just because you learn a great deal about human nature and about cause and effect in your own lives, as well as the life of the nation, which you will; but as a source of strength, as an example of how to conduct yourself in difficult times...But I hope you also will find history to be a source of pleasure."
We owe it to our Esperanza scholars to awaken in them a love for history.
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